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FEYENOORD 3-3 PSV

The sides shared the spoils when Rotterdam and Eindhoven fought for bragging rights Sunday in the Eredivisie. PSV seemed to have wrapped up a three-point Xmas present for their fans by the break, racing into a two-goal lead. But second-half strikes by Salomon Kalou and Shinji Ono set up an exciting finish as Feyenoord clawed their way back into it. And then, sensing that the glory was there for the taking, Bart Goor rattled in an injury time equaliser.

Feyenoord found things tough against the league leaders in the opening stages and conceded after just six minutes to make their task just that bit more difficult. Unsurprisingly, the goal came from a dead-ball situation. Mark van Bommel’s free kick from the right was met by Cocu, who had time and space to convert.

The goal knocked the wind out of the home side, which didn’t appear able to regroup and the visitors took control of midfield, putting the Feyenoord defence under pressure. The Rotterdammers tried to reply with some pressure of their own, but Ghaly couldn’t keep his shot on target and Goor found the bar but not the back of the net with his effort.

Things got worse for Feyenoord when PSV doubled their lead halfway through the half. Again it was some poor defensive work by the home side that invited the free Farfan to make use of acres of space to head in a Lee cross.

A minute later Feyenoord sculptured a fine chance of their own. Ono’s pass put through Kuyt who headed for the Eindhoven goal with his fourteenth league strike of the season seemingly in his boots, but his effort ultimately whistled wide.

That was the Rotterdammers highest peak in attacking terms in the first 45, which was controlled in the main by the visitors. Gullit tried to add more oomph to the home attack with an early substitution on 32 with Castelen replacing Ghaly, but the switch had little effect.

Only at the beginning of the second half, as the home fans start to really urge on their team, did Ruud Gullit’s men start to show more conviction. That paid dividends within five minutes, as one of the best Feyenoord players, Goor, struck a shot across goal that hit the far post. Salomon Kalou was on hand to cash in the rebound and the red and whites were back in the game. It was the first goal conceded by PSV in a massive 1159 minutes, or close to thirteen full Eredivisie matches.

Feyenoord upped the tempo a little after the goal, but they did leave themselves open to the visitors’ counterattacks. And it was precisely such a breakout that handed PSV their third of the afternoon on 70. Ooijer crossed from the right and with Song floundering Beasley nipped in behind the Korean to make it 1-3.

Lodewijks prevented more grief ten minutes later, when he kept out an Ooijer shot.

Not long after Gullit brought in Buffel for Basto and it was the Belgian that was at the root of the Rotterdammers’ second goal. The attack he set up was ultimately rounded off by Ono, who beat Gomes to the ball in the box.

Despite the minimal difference on the scoresheet the home side didn’t appear to have the breath to blow the PSV house down, but that was reckoning without the big lungs of the other Belgian in Rotterdam’s service, Bart Goor. The match was deep into stoppage time when Goor powered into the opposition box and forced the ball into the net to set De Kuip on its head and pinch a point for the Maassiders when all had seemed lost.